Raising Demons and Funding: Demon’s Rook Update

Undead Backbrain’s recent update on The Demon’s Rook and interview with director/writer/actor James Sizemore emphasises just what a worthy project this is — full-on indie horror using a style and approach that updates ’80s demonic exploitation, with its hands-on, in-your-face attitude — complete with zombies and all.

UB has no hesitation in bringing to your attention the fact that the producers have initiated an Indiegogo campaign to raise some much needed funds to help with the final post-production expenses — and in recommending that you should consider being part of it if you possibly can. If you’d like to help out (and gain some great benefits at the same time), check out the indiegogo page at http://www.indiegogo.com/demonsrook.

To demonstrate how worthy of support this film project is — remembering that it is already most of the way toward completion and only needs some help in final post-production enhancement — check out this Behind-the-Scenes look at the expertise and dedication that has gone into The Demon’s Rook‘s make-up FX. Beautiful work!

[youtube fMYl5gLiTkI]

Crowd-sourcing as a means to both initiate and enhance independent and creator-owned projects is proving a wonderful opportunity for all concerned. Creators benefit because they can bring to fruition worthy and innovative films/books/graphic novels/artworks that might otherwise disappear into a financial wasteland. Backers benefit from assorted goodies, but more importantly they get to enjoy a finished work that might never have eventuated. At a time when mainstream producers and corporate gatekeepers are becoming more and more conservative and increasingly reluctant to take on Difference over More of the Same, this use of the internet is a genuine boon and may be the salvation of the Next Great Artist. It’s not wannabees and exploiters who are set to gain most from this, but the genuine artists/producers who are able to demonstrate their potential and professionalism in such a way as to attract the Crowd’s attention and to therefore gain the means to realise their artistic vision without the restrictions imposed by the conservative corporate bottom-line.

A more-than-worthy recent example of the attraction of crowd-sourcing is a project by DC comic writer Gail Simone (Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey, Deadpool, Secret Six, Batgirl) and artist Jim Calafiore (Aquaman, Exiles, Gotham Underground, Secret Six), who wanted to work together on a special owner-creator project titled Leaving Megalopolis — a superhero graphic novel that wasn’t going to get support from the Big Guys. Their Kickstarter campaign had an original goal of $34,000, though in the end $117,660 was pledged, which allowed them to raise the page count of the final product and to offer other bonuses, such as a hardcover edition. This was a spectacular vindication of this new style of grass-root level funding.

Anyway, check out James Sizemore’s film campaign for The Demon’s Rook, and consider becoming a backer. You can at least sign up to get a copy of the DVD when it arrives, though there are other incentives as well.